Non-conference slate features trips to Arkansas, Minnesota and Louisville
08/24/2016 | 11:10:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Saluki Athletics unveiled the 2016-17 men's basketball non-conference schedule during a first-of-its-kind live broadcast from SIU Arena on Wednesday morning.
The show was hosted by Saluki Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Reis with commentary from head coach Barry Hinson. The 13-game non-conference slate features a school-record eight home games, beginning with the season opener against Wright State on Nov. 11. The rest of the home schedule includes Missouri Southern State (Nov. 16), Mount Saint Mary's (Nov. 21), Murray State (Nov. 29), Texas Southern (Dec. 3), Sam Houston State (Dec. 10), Saint Louis (Dec. 14) and UT-Martin (Dec. 22).
Three of the eight home games (Murray State, Sam Houston State and Saint Louis) are part of home-and-home series agreements, while the other five are one-time games.
The Salukis will play three road games against Power Five conference opponents Arkansas (Nov. 14), Minnesota (Nov. 25) and Louisville (Dec. 7). All three of these matchups are one-time games. Southern also travels to SIUE (Nov. 18) as part of a series agreement, and to UNLV (Dec. 19) for the Missouri Valley Conference-Mountain West Challenge.
The last time SIU played a Power Five opponent was Missouri on Nov. 12, 2013, and the last time Southern played three Power Five opponents in the regular season was 2007-08 (Mississippi State, USC, Indiana).
Southern has a recent history with both Minnesota and Arkansas, having played the schools on back-to-back days at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. in 2006. The Salukis lost to the Razorbacks in overtime, then bounced back to beat the Golden Gophers the next day, followed by a win over Virginia Tech. SIU is 2-3 all-time versus Louisville, though the teams haven't met since 1976.
Three of this year's opponents played in postseason tournaments a year ago. Texas Southern was invited to the NIT by virtue of winning the SWAC regular-season crown, while Sam Houston State and UT-Martin both participated in the CIT. Louisville posted a 23-8 record a year ago but was ineligible to compete in postseason.
Season tickets are on sale now and start at just $150, call 877-Salukis to purchase.